So I was excited to buy Dragon Age Origins until I recently read this post on Kotaku.com.
Seriously 1 day DLC for $7 then another $15 a month from now. I have officially decided not to buy this game and will rent it instead. I like many others have bought some useless shit in the past but DLC is getting ridiculous. Does anyone else feel this way?
Not quite to the same degree, but with stuff like this, and other traditional EA business decisions, I did decide to switch my preorder to the standard edition instead of the collector's. That, and with certain collector's exclusive items being made available to all, and it costing about $20 more, and all you're really getting for that $20 is a tin case, for me, I didn't see it collector's worthy, anymore.
I still have a feeling I'm going to really enjoy this game, but anymore, I'm not thinking it's going to be a keeper, so I figure why spend the extra money, when I'll most likely gooz it out after a month or two.
Yes, it is getting out of hand ( See Madden 2010). Games like Burnout: Paradise and Batman: AA have worthwhile DLC. A lot of it was free and expanded the gameplay. SF IV had a lot of useless costume packs that were way over-priced.
The worst is when you have to pay for unlockable content included on the disc.
Like it was pointed out in the comments on that site though, Dragon Age was delayed. During the delay, they did work on the DLC that would have got worked on if the game came out on the original release date. The delay pushed the game back to the time of DLC release too, so you have both coming out at the same time. All these people whining are ignoring that. Plus, DLC is being done by a seperate team on a different budget/funding as well. So yeah, they could throw out every disc they printed up ahead of time, and reprint the discs with the DLC added, and not make a dime off the added development cost of said DLC, but why should they lose money?
That being said, I don't have a desire to play the game, but my wife does. I just have a little common sense about business practices :D
I'm sick of all the overpriced DLC floating out there. I don't even buy Rock Band tracks anymore. If you could use the song for your own listening pleasure as well as in Rock Band it would be worth $2 each time.
Simple solution: Don't buy the DLC or wait for a GOTY edition that includes it, if you really want it.
ElfShotTheFood: Simple solution: Don't buy the DLC or wait for a GOTY edition that includes it, if you really want it.
I understand that, but that is not really feasible. No way in heck would I wait a year to play a game just to get the GOTY edition.
I like the idea behind DLC, but not when it is used to gouge consumers. Yeah we don't have to buy it I agree, but what fun would that be?
I could understand DLC being a huge selling point if the game was like, multiplayer only, or had a very short single player campaign. But how many hours are in DA:O? I know I've seen 100+ hours thrown around on quite a few sites. If you can't enjoy the game in that time, and need DLC to justify purchasing it, I don't know what to tell you.
I pre-ordered so I get everything but the wardens keep for free. I have no problem with day 1 DLC if I get the majority of it free as a pre-order.
As for the Wardens Keep, If I like the game enough, I will bite on it at a later time.
Bioware makes awesome games, however their DLC has been questionable in the passed (Mass Effect is a good example - Bring Down the Sky could of been better and Pinnacle Station is just aweful). Play the game...if you like it to the point you want more then get the DLC then get it. No one forces you to download anything.
Well EA is the worst of the bunch when it comes to DLC, charging for cheat codes in and in game money? THE WORST.
Batman AA - free DLC (which is mostly just unlocking maps) is better. I understand publishers want people to KEEP the game they buy hence the "free DLC" which is really not free, 95% of the assets are already on the disc, but it beats charging for guns/skins.
On the flip side, this is bioware. If Bioware asked me to eat a bowl of thumbtacks to play Baldur's Gate 3.. I'd consider it.
Wait a second, I preorded so I'll be getting it free! edit - well some of it
The Warden's Keep, a downloadable add-on to Dragon Age: Origins that BioWare had been planning for some time, will be available as paid DLC the day the game releases, GameSpot reports. Warden's Keep draws its name from the Grey Wardens, an ancient order involved in Dragon Age's canon. The DLC delivers a dungeon-based adventure, new abilities and items, and a trading base. It will cost 560 Microsoft points on Xbox Live Marketplace and $7 on the PC when the game goes out Nov. 3, and then for $7 on the PS3 when that version hits Nov. 17. Additionally, BioWare said another piece of DLC, "The Stone Prisoner," will also be available day one. That pack is free to those who preroder the game or buy it new. For those who have to pay for it, it will be instantly available for 1,200 Microsoft points or $15.
The Warden's Keep, a downloadable add-on to Dragon Age: Origins that BioWare had been planning for some time, will be available as paid DLC the day the game releases, GameSpot reports.
Warden's Keep draws its name from the Grey Wardens, an ancient order involved in Dragon Age's canon. The DLC delivers a dungeon-based adventure, new abilities and items, and a trading base. It will cost 560 Microsoft points on Xbox Live Marketplace and $7 on the PC when the game goes out Nov. 3, and then for $7 on the PS3 when that version hits Nov. 17.
Additionally, BioWare said another piece of DLC, "The Stone Prisoner," will also be available day one. That pack is free to those who preroder the game or buy it new. For those who have to pay for it, it will be instantly available for 1,200 Microsoft points or $15.
To those moaning about how this should have been on the disc, the PC game has been finished since March I believe. It is delayed for the consule versions. They have been working on the DLC since the PC version was complete.
It is a little diffrent than most Day 1 DLC. And again, most of it is free if you pre-order or buy it new. I actually think this is a great business decision. It helps re-coup the costs of the used game sales.
I would rather have this than digital only.
EDIT: A good business model only in that they give the DLC free to those who Pre-order or buy it new. Just a clarification.
My point about the DLC is the sheer shallowness of a lot of it in regards to what the price point is.
Examples:
GTA IV: The Lost and the Damned - Totally worth the $20
SWFU: Jedi Temple Pack - Eh not so much at $10
With single player games such as this one, I will wait until the inevitable "Game of the year" edition comes out and buy it used. I'm more interested in Mass Effect 2 since I am a big fan of the first one;however, I need to see if they will pull any nonsense when it comes to DLC with it first. I'm fine with DLC in copies of games to encourage people to buy new, and I am perfectly fine buying DLC for games when it is worth it ( Lost and the Damned for example) But for the most part, a lot of DLC is overpriced garbage, and many companies go too far.
Main reason people buy used is because they are showing -- with their money -- that games are too expensive. Not all games are worth the $60 ($70 if you are in Canada, and even more if you are in Europe, Australia, etc...) price tag and there needs to be more flexible pricing.
Like I said, this is a single player game, and I can wait to play it. Especially considering the "Game of the year" edition that will come out with all the content and at a much lower price point.